Dynamics in Human-Reindeer Relations: Reflections on Prehistoric, Historic and Contemporary Practices in Northernmost Europe

High-resolution palynology reveals the land use history of a Sami renvall in northern Sweden

“…Much remains unknown about their cultural history owing to a scarcity of historical and archaeological evidence. Debate continues over the nature and timing of the domestication of Rangifer tarandus (reindeer) by the Sami, which is variously placed as early as the end of the last glacial (Weichselian) period (Bogoras 1924;Jochelson 1926), the 1st millennium BC (Helskog 1988), the 1st millennium AD (Ö stlund and Bergman 2006), AD 800-1000 (the Viking Age) (Manker 1947;Ruong 1982), or as late as the 16th-18th century (Müller-Wille et al 2006;Bjørnstad et al 2012). The transition from hunting to herding (semi-nomadic pastoralism) must have resulted in changes in the relationship between people, their animals and the environment (most notably, the vegetation).…”

“…Historical and palaeoecological data place the transition from reindeer hunting to true, intensive reindeer herding around the 17th or 18th century AD (Aronsson 1991;Lundmark 2007). This method involved the regular gathering of small, tame herds of animals for the purposes of milking, calving, calf marking, slaughtering and protection (Aronsson 1991), while the daily subsistence requirements continued to be met through hunting and gathering (Niklasson et al 1994;Bergman et al 2004b;Müller-Wille et al 2006). Reindeer were lured to their summer herding grounds with the help of peat-fuelled smudge fires.…”

Adaptation and niche construction in human prehistory: a case study from the southern Scandinavian Late Glacial

“…The likelihood ratio (LR) test and Bayes factors (BFs) are used to assess whether these two traits are correlated. These analyses indicate that specialized reindeer hunting without dogs was probably an unstable strategy tenable only under favourable climatic conditions during the Late Glacial, and that domesticated dogs were a necessary component of successful specialized reindeer economies, as suggested by Mü ller-Wille et al [121]. They also support the idea that domesticated dogs during this period were a costly resource that, while conferring important adaptive advantages in hunting, also required significant maintenance and training costs [133].…”

“…These technologies-drive lines and pathways, for instance-are signatures of forager NC involving reindeer, and are found in Scandinavia from at least the Early Holocene [128,129]. Ingold also notes that reindeer economies provide excellent opportunities for canine companions, and Müller-Wille et al [121] point out that northern European reindeer economies not only are associated with but also require the use of dogs. In the following, I therefore explore the specific hypothesis that intense reindeer specializations akin to herd management evolved already during the Late Glacial in southern Scandinavia.…”

Arctic Social Indicators

“…reindeer, horse, cattle) is about much more than just food, from prehistoric and historic through to modern times. In addition to basic sustenance, interaction with animals provides the basis for clothing, shelter, tools, art, language, education, calendar, spiritual fulfillment and, not least, the maintenance of intraand inter-household socio-cultural relations though formal and informal codes of sharing and reciprocity (Nelson 1969;Beach 1981;Wenzel 1991Wenzel , 2005Stammler 2005;Vitebsky 2005;Müller-Wille et al 2006). In other words, interaction with animals is a key element of the social fabric of local communities throughout the Arctic.…”